Doorbell
by Gutter's Voice
Summary: AU. Sort-of continuation to Answerphone. Axel comes home, having made some interesting discoveries. Akuroku, various other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is a sort of continuation to _Answerphone_, and while that isn't required reading to understand this, it might help a bit.

It is also an AU; it's almost our own world, except with Heartless. The Organization _is_ trying to make Kingdom Hearts, but only because they want their hearts back, and are meanwhile acting as a sort of 'let's keep the Heartless from eating our world' group.

It helps that killing Heartless gains Hearts for them.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It'd be nice to own, say, Vexen. Or Roxas. Or any of them, really. But I don't. Oh well.

* * *

**Doorbell**

Chapter 1

_ding, dong_

Roxas grumbles as he is sent to get the door; he is the lowest-ranking, not to mention the youngest, so it is always his job to do menial tasks.

If the phone rings, 'it's for you, Roxas!'

If the doorbell goes, 'get the door, Thirteen!'

It isn't even as if they have any right to boss him around, really. After all, the Organization is becoming more and more like a family with each passing day, albeit a highly dysfunctional, monster-killing family with a tendency for coupling off with each other.

Although, he supposes, even if they were family, Roxas would be the youngest brother, and would still have to get the door. That's just the way life works, he muses, as he pulls open the front door.

And freezes, because the red-haired, green-eyed man with the teardrop tattoos has been missing for almost six months now, and he is walking in as if he never left.

Except that before, he wouldn't have passed Roxas without even a second glance, let alone a greeting. He wouldn't have practically shoved the blond boy out of the way so as not to make eye contact. He wouldn't have headed straight for the stairs in such unusual silence.

Roxas bites his lip.

There are no tears springing unbidden to his eyes - _of course not, Nobodies never cry_ - but there is a lump forming in his throat, and as the redhead sets his foot on the first step, Roxas finds himself sprinting across the hallway, and wrapping his arms around the man's abnormally skinny waist.

Muscles tense beneath him, but there is no struggle, and Roxas realises that he has grown more than he thought he had in the last five and a half months; there is red hair in his face, tickling his nose.

"Axel." He says simply. It's been a long time since he's been able to say that name without a pang of worry and fear.

Axel relaxes, wilts. He turns around, and Roxas is taken aback at the _feeling_ in those startling green eyes, which drop away after only a moment.

Roxas isn't sure what to think.

Of course he is relieved to see that his best friend is alive and well, but at the same time, he is remembering the despair and emptiness that he has suffered through since Axel left. And there is the reminder of the last message Roxas left on Axel's cell phone; he isn't blushing - _of course not, Nobodies never blush_ - but he is wondering whether Axel is thinking of that. Whether that is why he can't meet Roxas' eyes.

"Axel, I-" He begins, then breaks off; what did he want to say, anyway? He bites his lip again, and as he tries to come up with some way of finishing off the sentence, Axel speaks.

"I'm not gonna ask you to forgive me, Roxas," He says, and Roxas almost shivers - it has been so long since he last heard that voice. "But I am sorry."

He's looking at the smaller Nobody properly again, and Roxas decides he much prefers this.

"I can't forgive you." He replies bluntly. It's true; Axel has hurt him too much for forgiveness, and he knows it: it's clear in the tiny, resigned nod he gives in response, in his tautened lips, and the way those ridiculous eyebrows draw together just slightly.

But Roxas smiles, and the fact that Axel suddenly doesn't know what to do is written all over his face, making Roxas almost-laugh.

He doesn't, though - _of course not, Nobodies never laugh _- he just smiles.

"But I don't hate you."

And now Axel is smiling, too, and he pulls the blond into a hug, provoking an surprised squeak. Roxas almost tries to struggle, but soon gives in, clinging to Axel, head buried in the taller man's chest, arms wrapped tightly around that horribly skinny waist, but not crying -_ of course not, Nobodies never cry_.

"I missed you." Axel admits, and Roxas finds himself smiling at this. He's not entirely sure why this makes him so happy - no doubt Axel missed Demyx, too, and Larxene, even Vexen.

And happy is an emotion anyway, and _Nobodies don't have emotions_, but he doesn't care, just for this one little moment.

A moment that is cut short rather abruptly by a high-pitched squeal and something barreling into them and knocking them over.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! You'rebackIknewyouwouldbeI'vemissedyousomuchAxeeeeel!"

It's Demyx.

"Demyx, this is unimaginably painful." Axel complains, and Demyx extracts himself from the tangled pile of limbs, still exclaiming about the redhead's return at the highest pitch and speed possible. Roxas, too, stands, and eventually all three have made it to their feet.

Demyx is bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, and it is clear that he is restraining himself rather well, despite his words all jumbling together in a loud, teapot-like squeal.

It is at this point that Thunder is cast slightly to the left of him, accompanied by a shout of 'shut the hell up, number Nine!' from somewhere upstairs.

He obeys, with a guilty look that almost makes Roxas laugh out loud. But only almost - _of course; Nobodies never laugh_. Someone else is laughing though, and it gives Roxas a shock equal to the lightning bolt that narrowly missed Demyx when he realises that it's Axel. Axel grins at him when he notices.

"What?" He teases. "Are you agape at how sexy I am?"

Roxas sticks his tongue out.

"I was thinking that you've got even skinnier, and you need to gain weight." He retorts, and Axel chuckles.

"I suppose I should start now; you got any of that sea salt ice cream?"

Roxas finds himself smiling again.

* * *

**A/N**: I'm working on Chapter 2 right ow, and will upload it soonish, reviews or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **_Short chapter. orz  
_

_But the next one will happen faster, because I know what's happening there, and how to make it work. And stuff._

_Also, I have a delicious beta, my very own Roxas. -snuggle-  
_

_**IMPORTANT: **I do not have anything against Kairi. I quite like her, actually. It just happens that in this particular fanfic, she does some things that are not very nice. Apologies to any Kairi-loving readers out there._

_Disclaimer: Not mine. ;__;  
_

* * *

**Chapter II**

_ding, dong_

Roxas has every reason to grumble today; he has been left in charge of the house, although he is most certainly not alone in the house.

Marluxia and Vexen are in.

And the sounds coming from the laboratory are inescapable, no matter where he goes in his attempts to get away.

He grimaces as he heads for the door, hoping that numbers IV and XI will have the grace to shut up for a minute so that Roxas will be spared that particular embarrassment.

He sees red hair through the frosted pane of glass, but it is a deeper shade than he would have preferred, and lower down. Nonetheless, Roxas can't help but think about Axel.

It has been almost a week since the Organization's number VIII returned home, and he has been acting in a highly unusual manner the whole time; he has been laughing, and smiling, and spending hours locked up alone in his room.

Roxas would be less surprised about the latter if it wasn't for the fact that the first time the redhead went and hid in his room, the door hadn't been locked, and Roxas had knocked and entered.

He hadn't had enough time to examine them and come to a proper conclusion, but the green eyes that answered the door were red-rimmed and so full of _feeling_ that he had been taken aback.

It was almost as if Axel had been--

No, that was ridiculous - _Nobodies never cry._

He shakes his head to dislodge the thought that has been bothering him all week - _Axel's being so emotional, but he's shown almost none of it towards me._ Indeed, the only time Axel hasn't shown emotion is when Roxas mentioned, almost in a test of his impossible theory - _impossible because Nobodies don't feel _- that he and Riku had broken up some time ago. Axel just looked at him, almost blank, as if he hadn't heard what Roxas had said.

Roxas ignores this thought, and opens the door.

Marluxia and Vexen don't stop, but it's only Kairi, and she at least knows about their relationship, and has been privy to (read: 'suffered through') their 'together time' before. But Kairi never usually visits the Organization unless she's accompanying Sora, and Roxas' Somebody is nowhere in sight.

Even feeling along the link the two of them - or one of them; Sora prefers the latter, but Roxas values his individuality - share, Sora is clearly in his room, unaware of Kairi's location.

"Um." Roxas says, trying not to grimace at his inarticulacy. He is not particularly fond of Sora's girlfriend, although her blonde, artistic Nobody has always been a good friend of his. "Hi, Kairi."

She smiles, in what suddenly strikes Roxas as a predatory manner, and walks inside, closing the door behind her. A loud moan comes from downstairs, and she pouts in irritation.

"That's a shame," She comments, voice all sugar-sweet and suddenly reminiscent of XII. Alarm bells start ringing in Roxas's mind. "I was kinda hoping..." She continues, and he reflexively takes a step back as she steps towards him. "That we would be alone."

"Wha-" Roxas finds himself backed up into the wall, Kairi's body pushed up against his.

"Well, I suppose they'll be too preoccupied to interrupt us, right?" She purrs, and Roxas freezes up as she presses her mouth against his.

Cold anger - _no, no, Nobodies don't feel anger_.

But all of a sudden, what he's supposed to feel doesn't matter anymore. Roxas _is_ angry.

He's furious.

He shoves the girl away, sending her stumbling backwards and toppling to the floor.

"You bitch." He says coldly, and she stares at him in shock. "You _whore_."

Kairi scrambles to her feet, no small amount of anger clearly visible on her own face.

"You know," She comments, venom dripping from her words. "Most guys enjoy my company. Faggot."

Roxas feels a familiar tingle in the palm of his hand, and has to exert quite a lot of self-control to prevent himself from bringing the Keyblade into the physical plane. He closes his eyes for a few moments, then, once he has calmed down sufficiently, reopens them, staring at the girl whose cheeks have twin blotches of red beginning to stain across them.

Emotionless.

The Organizations number XIII is a Nobody, after all. The anger he felt only moments before must have been caused by the emotions he instinctively knows Sora would feel in the same situation.

"Get out of here." His words are not cold now; just empty of feeling.

Kairi obeys, stalking out of the house as if she was the one wronged.

Roxas leans against the wall, suddenly exhausted. That was unpleasant. Worse; from her words, it seems to him that she does this sort of thing often.

And no one else is going to tell Sora.

He sighs, pulls his phone out of his pocket, and dials the number.

_brrr. brrr. brr--_

He takes a deep breath. As if he needs it; it's not as if a Nobody could feel the stress that is weighting down the blond's shoulders.

"Um, Sora? I...have to tell you something."

* * *

**A/N: **_Second chapter and an ending that apparently counts as a cliffhanger already. Gosh._

_I appreciate reviews, but won't ask for a specific amount before the next chapter. It'll come regardless. Eventually.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **_This took freaking forever. Mainly because Real Life got in the way and then I had exams and then I was lazy. _

_But here you go: update, yay._

_In case you couldn't tell, this is from Riku's perspective, rather than Roxas'._

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

**Doorbell**

Chapter 3

_ding, dong_

Riku has not been expecting visitors, so when the doorbell rings, he is quite surprised. He pauses his video game - a warrior-magician freezes in the middle of a devastating attack on a demon lord - and begins to make his way downstairs.

He has been alone a lot lately; Sora spends most of his time with Kairi, and his own relationship with Roxas barely lasted two weeks.

Not that that had been unexpected, of course. They had both seen it coming right from the start; both of them had been compromising, after all. He knows full well that Roxas had wanted Axel, even if the blond would never admit it. And it would be a lie, saying that Riku hadn't wanted...someone else.

He still wants that person, but has long since given up on any chance of that.

A sigh, almost of regret, and a hand through silver hair - he notes absentmindedly that he's in need of a cut - and he opens the door.

Sora is there.

Riku barely gets a glimpse of tear-stained cheeks and watery eyes before the smaller boy throws himself against Riku, burying his face in the silver-haired boy's chest.

Riku is taken aback, but instinctively wraps his arms around the sobbing boy, pulling him gently inside, closing the door to gain them some privacy from any prying neighbours. He holds Sora for a few minutes, stroking his hair, allowing for all of that emotion to pass.

He doesn't say anything. Riku knows Sora - _better than anyone_ - and he has experienced Sora's overwhelming emotions before; since their childhood the two of them have shared almost everything, from favourite toys to detentions, and more relevantly, many emotional experiences, more so on Sora's part than Riku's own, but that's just how it is. Sora needs to express his emotions, and Riku has always been there for him. He intends for it to always stay that way.

He knows Sora.

He knows to wait, to let things run their course. If Sora wants to say what has upset him so badly - and Riku has not seen Sora this upset for a very long time - he will, when he is ready.

Eventually, the sobs quiet, and cease. Riku doesn't let go of Sora yet; he is still shaking slightly. He pulls away slightly, though, looks at those tear-filled blue eyes.

He hates seeing Sora like this. It makes him want to...

To do something.

Probably something very stupid, like kissing away those salty tears.

But he doesn't do anything like that, ignores that instinct, only strokes that soft hair, and guides Sora through to the living room; they sit on the sofa together, Sora clinging to Riku, almost childlike in his actions.

After a few minutes of silence, Sora begins to speak, and manages, with a little trouble and a few short breaks to recompose himself, to tell Riku exactly what Roxas had told him over an hour ago.

Once he has finished, Riku doesn't reply for a little bit.

He has always considered Kairi a great friend; a kind, sweet girl who he rather liked. Now he doesn't know what to think. This seems improbable at best, but he has never doubted Roxas.

Even if he had, he knows that Roxas cannot lie to Sora: they are in a way the same person.

Which means that Kairi is the one who has been lying, not only to Sora but to everyone, with her constant displays of affection towards the boy sniffling on Riku's sofa, the long kisses that broke Riku's heart every time, and forced him to smile and be happy for them.

Now that he knows this truth, he hates her, and his grip around Sora's shoulders tightens as he realises this.

Naturally, he doesn't voice this opinion; he knows Sora still loves her. But he knows that he will never forgive Kairi for hurting the boy he has loved for so long.

"Riku?" Sora's voice is quiet, and although there is still quite a tremor to it, it is much stronger than it was only moments before.

Riku responds simply with a quiet '_mm?_' into Sora's hair.

"What do I do now?"

Riku understands the question. It means: how do I keep going now that she's done this? and what shall I say to her when I next see her? and why would she do such a thing? and am I supposed to believe this?

But Riku doesn't answer any of those.

He lets go of Sora, who obligingly untangles himself from the taller boy.

"You choose a movie to watch while I put a pizza on. Then you watch the movie with me. Then we play some video games or do something else equally mindless and pointless." He pauses. "And then later we can get drunk."

Sora almost manages a laugh - it sounds more like a hiccup to Riku, and is quite endearing - and obediently makes his way over to the shelf of DVDs while Riku heads into the kitchen.

---

In the kitchen, Riku chokes back tears of his own, horrified that Kairi could even consider doing that to anyone, let alone _Sora_.

Perhaps they had been wrong about her and Namine; perhaps Kairi is the one with no heart. Because Riku cannot comprehend anyone with any form of emotion doing such a thing.

He shakes off the thought, composing himself with a deep breath or two, and plasters on that sardonic smile that he wears so often when he needs to stop crying.

---

The pizza is delicious, and the film is good; the video games are a wonderful distraction from thoughts of anything besides '_yeah, headshot!_'. They choose not to drink in the end, and Riku is secretly glad of it: the amount they would have to drink to forget _that _would lower his inhibitions too much, and probably end in him doing something stupid.

There is, of course, a part of him that wouldn't really mind doing something stupid, but it is squashed and for the most part quelled by the sensible part that is thankful even for Sora's friendship.

Although, as he watches Sora walk away down Riku's drive with a cheery wave, even the sensible part of him wishes that he could have just kissed him to make it all better.

* * *

**A/N:** _I'll get the next chapter out quicker. Honest. -shiftylook-_

_And thank you to those who reviewed. I truly appreciate it._


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** _Look at this! Two chapters in two days! (actually, it's sort of three days, but last time was just after midnight, I think, so it counts as two days) Unfortunately, I'm less sure what I'm doing with the next chapter, so...yeah..._

_But do enjoy this. Look, some mild plot development!_

**Disclaimer:**_ I am not Tetsuya Nomura. This is evidenced by the fact that I am neither male nor of Japanese origin. Also, I don't have Cloud's earring (which, for those that have not yet watched the special features on Advent Children, Nomura does in fact own and wear). So, sadly, I do not own these characters.  
_

**

* * *

Doorbell**

Chapter Four

_ding, dong_

For once, Roxas isn't sent to get the door, for which he is mostly thankful; it does mean he has to put up with the very-in-trouble-again Demyx whining and complaining, after all.

But he is far too busy to get the door - his sea-salt ice cream won't eat itself. And right now no one wants to bother Roxas, because after he threw the Keyblade at a rapidly closing door when Demyx asked what was 'up' for the third time, the others decided that Roxas' link to his Somebody was bothering him again and tactfully agreed not to approach number XIII for the rest of the day.

He munched down on his fifteenth ice cream, trying and failing once more to push the memory of Kairi's actions from earlier out of his mind with the painful coldness.

It was ridiculous how frustrated he was getting over this - _no, no, it was ridiculous that he was getting frustrated at all._

It wasn't as if she was even his girlfriend. Well, she was, sort of, because he was Sora, sort of, but Roxas didn't even _like _Kairi. He had never understood Sora's attraction to her in the first place.

A bony, skinny hand reaches out of nowhere and plucks the ice cream out of his hand; he looks up to see a grinning, fox-like face with laughing green eyes and teardrop tattoos.

"So, Demyx said that Sora was moping. Wanna talk about it?" Axel asks, taking a lascivious lick of the ice cream before Roxas manages to snatch it back.

"Ass." He glares at the grinning redhead, before lapsing into a pensive silence.

Axel watches his face carefully, unwrapping his own frozen treat while Roxas' begins to melt.

"Your lolly is dripping onto your hand." He points out.

Roxas blinks in surprise - he had been lost in thought - and grimaces at the freezing blue drops that are beginning to run down onto his wrist. He transfers the ice cream to his other hand, and licks the offending liquid off his fingers, not noticing the way that Axel tenses, or the mixture of fear and something like hunger in those green eyes.

And when his hand is clean, he doesn't notice how Axel is suddenly fascinated with the pattern on the kitchen table, or the faint dusting of pink on the other Nobodies cheeks.

In fact, he doesn't look at Axel at all.

Because he is remembering what he was thinking earlier that day, just before opening the door to Kairi, and the laughter that was in Axel's eyes only moments ago, and the anger and frustration and pain that he is feeling now and blaming on Sora.

"Axel..."

Axel holds up a hand, cuts him off.

"This better be you telling me what happened, otherwise I ain't listening; got it memorised?"

Roxas reflexively rolls his eyes at the catchphrase that he would never admit to missing.

"Alright." He concedes. "Kairi came round earlier."

"Kairi?" Axel blinks in incomprehension, confusion written all over his face for a few seconds. "Oh; Sora's girlfriend. Red hair, bit of a slut?"

Roxas' lips tauten slightly at that last word, but he nods.

"More than we knew, actually." He admits, staring balefully at the ice cream, not seeing Axel frown in understanding. "It seems she has been cheating on Sora for some time."

There is a moment of silence, followed by the scrape of Axel's chair.

Roxas looks up in surprise; Axel is standing, his back to the blond, and the orange glow that is coalescing around his hands is worryingly familiar.

Axel say something, too quiet for Roxas to hear, but he gets the gist of it.

"What are you thinking?" He asks, calmer than any normal person would be - _but he is a Nobody, and Nobodies don't feel panic _- and stands, steps over to Axel.

Roxas touches the taller man's elbow, just gently, with a tone of admonishment.

"Hurting her won't help anyone. It's completely illogical."

Axel turns to meet Roxas' eyes, and there is something like disbelief in his eyes, and Roxas can't breathe for a moment, because there is no doubt in his mind now that Axel is _feeling. _

And that this is impossible.

"She's hurt people. Sora, and more importantly, you." Roxas opens his mouth to protest, to say that he's a Nobody, that's ridiculous, but Axel simply looks at him, and he can't speak, because suddenly he's afraid of the emotion that Axel is displaying.

And it's stupid that he's even considering this possibility, and he knows that - _Nobodies don't have emotions; the hollow space where their Heart should be dictates this fact _- but what his mind knows and what he can see are two very different things.

"She's hurt you, Roxas, and you can't deny that," continues Axel. "And I personally believe that she deserves some hurt of her own."

Roxas shakes his head, searching for some counter-argument, but he is saved - _just in time _- by a scar on a wolfish face popping its blue mane around the door.

"Eight, Superior wants you." Saïx says, giving Roxas a curt nod as he removes Axel from the room.

"This conversation ain't over, Roxy!" yells a just barely protesting Axel from the stairs, and Roxas feels a pang of something only partly unpleasant at the nickname, something he hasn't heard for many months.

He had always hated it, before Axel's disappearance, but now...

Now he doesn't know what to think.

Now there is this terrible, wonderful notion that he is desperately trying to avoid facing up to; the possibility that somehow, Axel is able to feel.

He can't comprehend how this has happened; he himself is the only member of the Organization to have found his Somebody so far, and it has not gotten him any closer to finding his Heart.

Could it be that Axel has found his own Heart, in some other way to the two methods that they are already trying - the finding of Somebodies and the creation of Kingdom Hearts - or is it something different?

Roxas frowns, then discards the thought.

Now that Axel is no longer here, he is less sure of what he thought he saw.

In fact, he is almost convinced that he completely imagined it - _a trick of the light, that's all_.

And with that thought - although he is unsure of whether it is comforting or depressing - Roxas gathers up his last sea salt ice cream, and heads out of the kitchen.

Demyx was saying something about some new fantasy-parody on TV earlier; he wonders absently if it was tonight that that was on, and if the sitar player still wants to watch it, as he wanders in the direction of the lounge.

Some sort of comedy would do nicely to take his mind off these troubling thoughts.

* * *

**A/N: _I's an awful thing, but I won't deny it: I'm suddenly a review whore. I like the attention. It makes me feel good about myself. So if you should maybe feel like feeding my bloated ego...  
_**

**_Incidentally, the show Demyx wants to watch is 'Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire'. Which is pretty hilarious, if you ask me. Oh, but it's on BBC2, so I don't know whether anyone outside of Britain can watch it..._**

**_Speaking of, I have no idea what country this is supposed to be in. I instinctively imagine English suburbia, but you don't have to. They could be anywhere.  
_**


End file.
